Vision

The value of our natural environment and lifestyle is preserved and enhanced by the community and Council.

Achieving our Vision

Council provides high quality services and facilities through strong leadership which considers the needs of our community, the environment and future generations.

Goals

The Community Strategic Plan incorporates five goals which reflect the following themes:-

• Our Ecological and Economic Sustainability;
• Our Social Culture and Community Relations;
• Our Infrastructure;
• Our Relationships; and
• Our Effectiveness, Efficiency and Accountability.

Goal 1: To facilitate ecological and economic sustainable development in the Shire.

Goal 2: To foster and enhance effective social, cultural and community relations, building respect and civic pride.

Goal 3: To plan and fund the Shire's infrastructure and service needs.

Goal 4: To pursue beneficial relationships with regional neighbours and other levels of Government.

Goal 5: To ensure leadership and effective, efficient accountable management.

The Community Strategic Plan will be reviewed each four years in line with the election of Councillors and the actions developed to implement the strategies, incorporate the action plans contained in the Social Plan, Ecological Sustainable Development Strategy and other plans.

Goal: To facilitate Ecological and Economical Sustainable Development in the Shire.

Like the rest of the world, the Kempsey Shire is approaching a critical turning point. For many years economic, environmental and social goals have been pursued in isolation from one another. However, more recently we have come to realise that our long-term well-being depends as much on the promotion of a strong, vibrant society and the ongoing repair of our environment, as it does on the pursuit of economic development. Indeed, it is becoming obvious that these issues cannot be separated. The challenge is to find new approaches to development that contribute to our environment and society now without degrading them over the longer term. Ecologically Sustainable Development proposes to do this by:

"using, conserving and enhancing the community's resources so that ecological processes, on which life depends, are maintained, and the total quality of life, now and in the future, can be increased."

Council wishes to enhance its role as:-

• An accountable organisation that initiates sustainable actions and outcomes within Council's areas of responsibility and reporting functions.
  
  
• An efficient and careful manager of natural resources and environmental services.
  
  
• A supporter of sustainable economic development.

Our Social Culture and Community Relations

Goal: To foster and enhance effective social, cultural and community relations building respect and civic pride.

Social sustainability is about providing ways for people to live together, over time, peacefully, equitably and with respect for all different cultures and individual identity. Social interaction and cultural enrichment should be promoted while satisfying the basic needs of the human community.

Kempsey Shire Council is committed to creating a thriving, sustainable community. Implementation and ongoing evaluation of diverse services and strategies, with a focus to improving the quality of life of the area's residents, is a priority. Council aspires to take a proactive approach to make certain that appropriate needs assessments, planning and monitoring are achieved.

To establish innovative, successful solutions to the pressing challenges of these priority issues, ongoing collaboration and planning between Council and community sectors is required. Changing needs and priorities must be identified and acted upon in the spirit of partnership if the community is to succeed in creating social prosperity in our local area. Effective forums will be essential to determine specific objectives to undertake, to rank them in terms of priority of action and establish measures and monitoring.

Council can contribute to creating a prosperous, self determining community through commitment to effective social planning.

Our Infrastructure Services

Goal: To plan and fund the Shire's infrastructure and service needs.

Council provides an extensive infrastructure portfolio to its community including roads, bridges and other transport facilities, stormwater and drainage, car parks, swimming pools, sporting facilities, libraries, plant and equipment, community halls, works depots, administrative buildings, furniture and equipment, caravan parks, saleyards, airports, water and sewerage.

Council is faced with an ageing infrastructure that is depreciating at a faster rate than renewal expenditure. Community expectations are high and ratepayers want value for money - they want a return for their rate payments. On the other hand, Council has limited capacity to fund infrastructure as increases allowed under rate pegging are insufficient to fund increased material, salary and wage costs.

Higher levels of service created by new development need to be contributed to by the developer, users of specialist services need to make a contribution, grants need to be accessed and other levels of Government need to recognise that they have a role in contributing a portion of taxation receipts to Local Government to pay for the additional services transfer to Councils.

Council cannot continue to provide the range of services that it does currently. Service provision needs to be prioritised, with non priority services reduced or withdrawn and services of a high priority allocated to the freed up additional resources.

Our Relationships

Goal: To pursue beneficial relationships with regional neighbours and other levels of Government.

To be effective and efficient Council cannot work alone. It needs to develop relationships with other Councils to share ideas, to enter into joint working relationships and to unite to lobby other levels of government. These relationships need to be developed on a Regional, State and Federal basis.

The State Government in the past has used amalgamation as a means to make Councils more efficient. However, bigger is not always better and under amalgamation community interest undoubtedly suffers. As an alternative to amalgamation the State Government is fostering Resources Sharing as a means of achieving cost savings and or improved service delivery.

Even before the push for Resource Sharing, Council participated in joint service arrangements with other councils. Since 2004 Council has been Resource Sharing with eight other Mid North Coast Councils in a wide variety of service areas producing increased levels of service, financial savings and co-operation.

On a State level Council is a member of the Shires Association of NSW which represents councils with a rural interest and the Local Government Association with represents urban interests as well as the Country Mayors Association which represents larger country councils. All these bodies are actively involved in lobbying for legislative change.

Federally, Council is represented on the Australian Local Government Association, a group that lobbies in particular for a fairer share of taxation revenue for Local Government. Council is also heavily involved with the national Sea Change Taskforce which highlights with other levels of government, the challenges associated with rapid population growth in high amenity and non-metropolitan coastal areas.

Wherever there is a need Council will seek to have its community represented so that it receives increased benefits and services.

Our Effectiveness, Efficiency and Accountability

Goal: To ensure leadership and effective, efficient accountable management

The community demands a well managed and accountable Council. Councillors are elected by the community, to work for the community and represent their interests. The community in return expect the decisions made on their behalf to represent the wishes of the electorate.

Kempsey Shire is not divided into wards and Councillors represent all residents, not only the communities in which they reside. The decisions of Council are for the benefit of all and not for a special interest group, or groups that may be promoting or opposing an issue.

Council needs to communicate with its community in such a way as to reach as many of its residents as possible. The community needs to have confidence that once decisions are made they are implemented promptly, within determined timeframes and within budget.

Dependence on rate income should be minimised. Every effort should be made to obtain grants for works and services of a high priority. The user pays principle should be maintained and those that create demands for new or increased levels of service need to contribute to those services.

A program of continuous improvement is necessary to ensure an efficient and effective operation. Not only should management be pursuing improvements to systems and processes but every endeavour should be made to work with other Councils and share resources for the benefit of all.

Regular reports need to be submitted to Council and the General Manager monitoring the implementation of plans, decisions, service standards, outcomes and outputs of the organisation.